Patients assessed by the liaison psychiatric team in the emergency department of a regional hospital in Canada - general characteristics and gender differences

Objective: To describe the characteristics of liaison psychiatric patients in the emergency department (ED) of a medium sized hospital in the oil sands region of Northern Alberta. Methods: ED psychiatry services users were evaluated using a data assessment tool designed to capture all relevant demographic and clinical characteristics. Results: Overall, 477 patients (48.2% male) were assessed by the psychiatric team over the 12 month period. There was a fairly balanced distribution by age, ethnicity and relationship status between both sexes. The majority of patients with a history of self-harm or childhood sexual abuse were female while male patients were significantly more likely to report medication non-compliance. A higher proportion of female patients had depressive disorders and personality disorders while a higher proportion of male patients had anxiety disorders, bipolar and related disorders, schizophrenia spectrum disorders and substance-related disorders. Nearly one in five patients was admitted for inpatient treatment with a significantly higher proportion of males being admitted involuntarily. Conclusions: There were sex-specific differences in many of the demographic and clinical measures in our ED psychiatric sample. These differences indicate a potential need for targeted education and service initiatives to promote better access to psychiatric services and treatment outcomes.